BtN: Episode 12 Transcripts 18/05/10
On this week's Behind the News
- The Federal Budget, what's in it for kids?
- The dogs that donate blood to save their mates.
- And magic tricks, why it's so easy to be fooled.
Hi I'm Nathan Bazley welcome to Behind the News.
Also on the show today, we see how Australia's getting into the action at the Football World Cup.
Those stories later but first let's catch up with the headlines.
The Wire
The biggest story in Australia last weekend was the return of 16-year-old Jessica Watson from her solo round-the-world sailing adventure.
Thousands of people crowded around the Sydney Opera House to welcome her,including the Prime Minister.
KEVIN RUDD Prime Minister: "You may feel a little wobbly on your feet just now but in the eyes of all Australians you now stand tall as our newest Australian hero."
JESSICA WATSON:"I'm actually going to disagree with what the Prime Minister just said. I'm an ordinary girl who just believed in her dream.
Her trip took her 23 thousand nautical miles to the equator in the Pacific Ocean down round Cape Horn, past the Cape of Good Hope, then across the South Ocean along the bottom of Australia.
But she's not worried by those who say she didn't go far enough north to qualify for having sailed around the world
JESSICA WATSON:"If I haven't sailed around I'm a bit lost as to what I've been doing for the past seven months.
She says her next mission is to learn how to drive a car.
And updating last week's story about the oil well spill off the United States, there's been good news and bad news.
The good news is that BP has successfully inserted a tube into a broken pipe on the ocean floor and some of the oil is now being collected in a ship.
The bad news is that they've found a lot of oil from the well still flowing into the ocean. It's called a plume and it's 16 kilometres long and five kilometres wide.
Budget 2010
Reporter: Sarah Larsen
INTRO: Last week was a pretty big one for the Australian Government.
It delivered this year's Federal Budget.
That's a big document showing how it's going to get money and how it's going to spend it.
The 2010 Budget is especially important because it's an election year and people may not vote for the Labor government if they don't like the budget.
But why should you guys care?
Sarah found out.
SARAH LARSEN REPORTER: For the past week you might have seen a lot of this on telly.
Hang on a sec, you might think it sounds boring, but the budget does affect you.
KID: Why?
Well for starters there are your parents. They pay tax and how much they pay depends on what's in the budget.
So the budget could affect your pocket money.
KID: What else?
Do you like sport? Well the money for training Aussie Olympians comes out of the budget so do some of the local sports venues you use all the time.
Want more proof? Let’s look at your future.
The sort of Australia you grow up in depends a lot on how the government spends its money now.
You might go to uni or TAFE and that’s something the government spends money on.
And I bet you'll need to visit a doctor at some stage. Healthcare's a big part of the budget.
You'll want to drive and the Federal Government pays for some roads.
And what if you end up out of work? You'll need welfare and that's in the budget.
Plus there's the environment, housing, and all sorts of other stuff that the government will have to spend money on.
KID: Where does the money come from?
Tax, mostly. Every Aussie who earns money has to give some of it to the government. Companies pay tax too and there's tax on the things we buy.
All together the government expects to get about 320 billion dollars this financial year.
KID: 320 billion??!!
It sounds impressive but dolling it out isn't easy, want to have a go?
The job of writing up the budget goes to the Treasurer which in real life is this guy, Wayne Swan although today it's Alex.
He doesn't do it alone. There are heaps of people working with him who help work out what people want and need in all sorts of areas - transport and education and health and so on.
They give that information to the treasurer who then has to decide who gets what.
There's a lot of pressure because if people don't like your budget they might not vote for you.
KID: It’s too hard, they all want too much money!
Well you do have a few options. You can either keep the spending down and risk upsetting some people or you can get more money.
KID: How?
You could increase tax but that'd mean people have less to spend which is bad for businesses.
You could tax businesses more but that could be bad for jobs.
Or you could borrow more money. That'd mean you'll have more to spend now but you will have to pay it back plus interest in the future.
You can bet the Treasurer feels a bit like this.
Last year the government borrowed quite a bit because the world economy was in trouble and it wanted to keep people working and spending. But now it's trying to reduce its debt.
So this year's budget didn't have a lot of new spending in it. Although there was a chunk of new money for health, tax cuts for small business and some other projects.
The government's also trying to raise money by making big mining companies pay more tax.
Some people are happy about that and others are angry, and that's the case every year.
But this year there's an election on, so everyone will be closely watching the government's financial balancing act!
Presenter: Staying in the world of high finance let's do a quiz.
Quiz 1
The ancient Greeks introduced a tax to pay for what purpose?
1. Temples
2. War
3. The Olympic Games
Answer: War
And when the war was over the people could stop paying the tax.
Internet Filters
Reporter: Sarah Larsen
INTRO: Now our next story is about something that's not quite a war but it's definitely a battle and it's to do with the Internet.
We hear a lot about cyber-bullying and how it can hurt kids but there are other dangers online that can put kids at risk.
The government wants to bring in a new law to try to filter out the net nasties but it’s causing a lot of debate.
Here's Sarah with more.
SARAH LARSEN REPORTER: The web is a window to the world. New friends, old friends, far away people, places, shops and information all at the click of a button.
But sometimes it's a window to a world you don't want to see.
KIDS: Gruesome stuff, like yeah.
There's a dark side to the net and sometimes it's hard to avoid; crime, cruelty, violence, and offensive pictures and videos.
STEPHEN CONROY: This material is so damaging that one viewing could leave a person scarred permanently.
There is software designed to protect kids from nasty sites;internet filters.
Filters are kind of like bouncers for your computer letting in the good sites and blocking the ones you don't want.
At the moment your school, your parents or your boss can chose whether or not to use a filter and they decide which sites to block out.
But the government wants to take it a step further.
You might already know about ISPs- Internet Service Providers. They're the gateway between your computer and the web.All the info has to go through them to get to you.
At the moment any filtering software works here on your computer but the government wants filters put here at the ISP.
That would mean everyone gets filtered internet whether they want it or not.
The ISPs would have to block out a list of banned sites set by ACMA, the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
It's ACMA that decides what rating to put on videos like G if it’s suitable for everyone or R if it’s only suitable for people over 18. If ACMA thinks a video is too offensive or it breaks the law it doesn't get a classification and that means it's banned in Australia.
It'd be the same for websites.
Anything that shows you how to commit a crime, or shows stuff that many people would find offensive would be put on the banned list.
Some reckon that will protect kids but others say it's CENSORSHIP.
That's a touchy subject. Censorship is when an organisation blocks people from accessing information whether it's news or books or movies and some governments try to use it to control how people think.
GET UP! TV COMMERCIAL: The government can say what we can and can't do on the internet from what we buy to how we communicate to accessing information.
This ad was made by a group of Aussies who are against the filter. They reckon people have a right to decide for themselves what they do or don't want to see.
Some worry the wrong sites will be blocked or that the filter will slow down internet connections.
The filter won't get rid of all nasty sites and some worry that parents won't watch their kids as closely if they think the net is filtered.
There is another problem: Kids.
You guys tend to be pretty good at figuring out computer programs and some say kids will be able to get around the new filter.
Some argue the answer to that is education. They say if kids know exactly what the dangers are and how to avoid them they'll be able to use their common sense to stay safe.
But others say when it comes to the dark side of the net we need all the weapons we can get.
Presenter: So what does everyone reckon?
Let's make that our poll question for this week.
Online Poll
Do you think the Government should block websites to everyone because they'll be harmful to kids?
To vote,just head to our website.
Donor Dogs
Reporter: Kirsty Bennett
INTRO: Every week thousands of Australians donate their blood to help people who are sick or injured.
While it's pretty common to hear of humans giving the red stuff, they're not the only ones braving the needle.
Dogs and cats can also give blood and save the lives of their furry mates.
Kirsty met one pooch whose been given another shot at life thanks to the doggy bloodbank!
KIRSTY BENNETT, REPORTER: Meet Mitzy and she's one lucky dog! This kelpie cross is in tip-top shape but a while ago her future was looking pretty bleak.
SAM, MITZY'S OWNER: She had a bit of a holiday up at my parents farm and came across some rat poison that had fallen off a shelf in an old garden shed and as dogs are pretty inquisitive she thought she'd have a taste of this and she ate a bit of it.
KIRSTY: Those mouthfuls soon saw Mitzy being rushed to the vet. It turned out she needed a blood transfusion to flush out the poison. That's when the vet takes blood from one animal and gives it to another. Mitzy was so sick she needed three transfusions.
SAM: I was pretty, pretty, pretty scared you know because after two and a half years you get to know your pet you know really quite well. Well my partner at the time we were both very concerned so we were just waiting and hoping.
KIRSTY: The blood transfusions definitely saved her life but it's not just the vets who need thanking! The real lifesavers are dogs like Zac. He's one of a dozen pooches that donate blood at this vet clinic. Zac's on call for emergencies.
Dr MARK NEWMAN, ADELAIDE ANIMAL HOSPITAL: Animals who have been in car accidents and lost a lot of blood that way or eating rat poison is another big one where they lose a lot of blood.
KIRSTY: Just like humans there are different blood types for dogs and cats. So the vets generally need to match up the right types. In an emergency, dogs’ blood can be used to help a cat - but it can't work the other way around. Before blood can be taken, there are a few things that need to be checked. The first is to weigh the animal and make sure they're the right weight to donate blood. So that's over 30 kilograms for dogs and at least four kilos for cats. Donors also need to be: in good health; aged between one and 7 years old; and have a calm temperament. Once all of those requirements are ticked off it's time to attach the drip. The fluid in the drip replaces nutrients lost in the transfusion. The vet also adds a sedative to make sure Zac stays calm.
ARIN: A little bit sleepy hey.
KIRSTY: So Mark what are you looking for?
MARK: At the moment we are just trying to find Zac's jugular vein which is a fluid filled vessel that is just under my finger there which we can feel quite easily.
KIRSTY: Is that where you extract the blood?
MARK: That's where we will put the needle into and take the blood from.
KIRSTY: OK, so let's see the result! It depends on the size of the dog but the aim is to get up to 450 millilitres of blood.
And this is where the blood ends up. The blood is kept here for a month and if it's not used in that time it has to be thrown out. Just like human blood, it can't be kept any longer because it starts to lose its nutrients.
The vets are always on the look-out for new donors because the donor dogs they have are getting older. So is there any chance that Mitzy could return the favour for some other pooches down the track?
SAM: That's a really interesting question I think. I would if everything checks out and that she could I reckon that would be a good thing for her to repay a little debt to the world of dogs.
KIRSTY: And that could go on to save the life of a mate she's never met!
World Cup
Reporter: Nathan Bazley
INTRO: More eyes watch this one sporting event than any other in the whole world.
But it's not the Olympics.
It's the football world cup and as Australia announced its team for the tournament last week. A big set of books was being shipped overseas.
Books that, with luck, might one day let us host the tournament ourselves.
NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: Seven hundred and fifteen million.
That's the number people they estimate were glued to this one event.
The 2006 Soccer World Cup final or football as most of the world calls it.
This one was held in Germany and in just under a month a similar number of eyes will be on South Africa as they host the 2010 tournament.
It's looking like it'll be the biggest sporting event ever held - bigger than the AFL grand final, bigger than the super bowl even bigger than the Olympics!
Here are the numbers, around 26 billion people tuned in during the last tournament from 240 different countries.
And half a million people are expected to rock up to South Africa in person to watch it live.
All up, that country is expecting to make around 3.3 billion dollars from the event.
It's no wonder countries fight over the right to host it.
That's the prize for the country that hosts the 2018 or 2022 football
World Cup.
And Australia wants it badly.
This video is just one tiny part of a massive bidding process that officially started over a year ago and still has a long way to go.
This is the letter that kicked it all off, an invitation sent out around the world to bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cups.
This was the first year that the organisers decided any country could apply except those that had just staged it.
And because of that they got a record number of entries.
Aside from Australia, England, Russia, the United States, Belgium and the Netherlands, and Portugal and Spain have all asked to host either the 2018 or the 2022 cups.
Japan, Qatar and South Korea have asked to host only the 2022 games.
That makes for some pretty stiff competition!
But hosting requires a lot of money and facilities so the organisers of the World Cup have to weigh up what each country can bring to the event.
First off, any country's bid has to have the support of its leaders.